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Morgan County by the birds

Jeff Birek, an outreach biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, talks about the new birding trail guide during an informational meeting on Thursday in the Fort Morgan Public Library. (Stephanie Alderton / Fort Morgan Times)

An eastern screech-owl, one of the species that could attract bird-watchers to Morgan County. (Courtesy photo)

Find out more

For more information in general on Colorado Parks and Wildlife and their other state birding trail guides, go to coloradobirdingtrail.com.

Anyone interested in participating in the northeastern Colorado birding trail guide should contact Morgan County district wildlife manager Todd Cozad at 970-867-2543, or Mary McCormac at 303-291-7328.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants to put landowners in northeastern Colorado on the map.

The specific map in question is a trail guide for bird-watchers.

The nature conservation group already published birding trail guides for western and southeastern Colorado, as well as the Rocky Mountains, and now they're working on one for the northeastern plains.

Each guide is designed to highlight the prime bird-watching spots in that area, so CPW members are looking for private landowners who have good locations on their property and are willing to be listed in the guide.

In an informational meeting last week at Fort Morgan Library & Museum, outreach biologist Jeff Birek and education and northeast Colorado wildlife coordinator Mary McCormac explained how the guide could benefit both farmers and tourists.

"[Bird-watching] is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in North America," Birek said. "All these attractions that we're highlighting will bring people and bring tourism dollars to all sorts of aspects of the economy."

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The birding trail guides provide information about nearby food, lodging and cultural attractions, along with each bird-watching location. Landowners will also be able to charge a fee to bird-watchers for using their land. Some landowners featured in previous guides have taken advantage of the extra traffic on their property by setting up guest houses and charging for them.

From a birder's perspective, northeastern Colorado has a lot to offer in the way of feather-friendly habitats. Bruce Bosley, a former Morgan County extension agent who attended the meeting, said some of the best bird-watching sites in the state are near Fort Morgan.

"We're kind of an in-between area for a lot of things," Bosley said.

Some of the most common birds spotted in eastern Colorado are the eastern screech-owl, the mountain plover, the red-headed woodpecker and raptors like Cooper's hawk. But other birds often pass through, especially in wetland areas like Muir Springs, which Bosley said is home to a huge variety of birds that would be hard to find elsewhere in the state.

Prairies in general are a valuable and increasingly rare habitat for birds, McCormac said.

Of course, there are potential downsides to allowing visitors to walk around on private property.

Landowners who participated in the guide would be legally required to put up signs around potential hazards, such as uncovered wells or rattlesnake nests, or risk being liable for accidents. They would not be liable for accidents that didn't involve unmarked hazards on their property, though.

Birek often talks to people who are surprised anyone would allow people to use their farm or ranch for bird-watching, but many did for CPW's previous birding trail guides, he said. That's part of what sets those booklets apart from other bird-watching guides, which only list public locations.

"People are interested in sharing what they have on their property and getting people to care about it, because they care about it," Birek said.

It's especially important for northeastern Colorado residents to get the word out about their bird-watching sites, McCormac said.

"People don't understand the importance that rural communities, agricultural communities and private landowners contribute to wildlife conservation, and what they do on their land that helps wildlife," she said. "I think that that's a huge story for us that will help some of those urban populations that don't think that that happens."

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